Indicator 17.6.1 Fixed Internet broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed

Indicator 17.6.1: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, by speed

Target 17.6: Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation on and access to science, technology and innovation and enhance knowledge-sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, in particular at the United Nations level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Definition:

The indicator fixed broadband subscriptions, by speed, refers to the number of fixed-broadband subscriptions to the public Internet, broken down by advertised download speed.

The indicator is currently broken down by the following subscription speeds:

- 256 kbit/s to less than 2 Mbit/s subscriptions: Refers to all fixed broadband Internet subscriptions with advertised downstream speeds equal to, or greater than, 256 kbit/s and less than 2 Mbit/s.

- 2 Mbit/s to less than 10 Mbit/s subscriptions: Refers to all fixed -broadband Internet subscriptions with advertised downstream speeds equal to, or greater than, 2 Mbit/s and less than 10 Mbit/s.

- Equal to or above 10 Mbit/s subscriptions (4213_G10). Refers to all fixed -broadband Internet subscriptions with advertised downstream speeds equal to, or greater than, 10 Mbit/s.

Concepts:

Fixed broadband subscriptions refer to subscriptions to high-speed access to the public Internet (a TCP/IP connection), at downstream speeds equal to, or greater than, 256 kbit/s. This includes cable modem, DSL, fibre-to-the-home/building, other fixed -broadband subscriptions, satellite broadband and terrestrial fixed wireless broadband. This total is measured irrespective of the method of payment. It excludes subscriptions that have access to data communications (including the Internet) via mobile-cellular networks. It should include fixed WiMAX and any other fixed wireless technologies. It includes both residential subscriptions and subscriptions for organizations.

The Internet is a worldwide public computer network. It provides access to a number of communication services including the World Wide Web and carries e-mail, news, entertainment and data files.

Per 100 inhabitants

Since data for this indicator are based on administrative data from operators, no information on individual subscribers is available and therefore the data cannot be broken down by any individual characteristics. Data could in theory be broken down by geographic location and urban/rural, but the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) does not collect this information.

The telecommunication/ICT regulatory authority or the Ministry in charge of Information and Communication Technology (ICTs) within each country, who collect the data from Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Since most Internet service providers offer plans linked to download speed, the indicator is relatively straightforward to collect. Countries may use packages that do not align with the speeds used for this group of indicators. Countries are encouraged to collect the data in more speed categories so as to allow aggregation of the data according to the split shown above. In the future, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) might start to include higher-speed categories, reflecting the increasing demand and availability of higher-speed broadband subscriptions.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) collects data for this indicator through an annual questionnaire from national regulatory authorities or Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministries, who collect the data from national Internet service providers. The data can be collected by asking each Internet service provider in the country to provide the number of their fixed-broadband subscriptions by the speeds indicated. The data are then added up to obtain the country totals.

2024-07-29

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

4.4.1, 4.5.1, 9.c.1, 17.8.1

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